George Pickett

George Edward Pickett (16 January 1825-30 July 1875) was a Major-General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Pickett graduated last in his West Point class, and he proved to be a poor general during the war, leading a futile charge at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 and leading the Confederates at the Battle of Five Forks in 1865, suffering a major defeat.

Biography
George Edward Pickett was born in Richmond, Virginia on 16 January 1825, the cousin of Henry Heth. Pickett studied law before entering West Point, and he was a "popular kid" at the academy; he had no ambition for class standing, he played pranks, and he ranked last in the class of 1846. Pickett fought in the Mexican-American War as a Lieutenant in the US Army, and he also took part in the "Pig War" standoff against the British Army in 1859. Pickett decided to travel to Virginia from his station in Oregon to join the armed forces of the new Confederate States of America at the start of the American Civil War in 1861, and he became a Brigadier-General in January 1862. His first combat command was during the Peninsula Campaign, and he led two divisions at the Battle of Antietam in October 1862. His most famous command was at the Battle of Gettysburg, during which he led a futile charge against Union positions. The Confederates suffered 6,000 losses during Pickett's Charge, and Pickett was recorded as one of the worst generals in US history. Pickett would end the war in Virginia after being defeated at Five Forks on 1 April 1865, a defeat that led to the Union capture of Richmond. On 9 April 1865, he surrendered at Appomattox Court House, and he became an insurance agent in Norfolk, Virginia after the war. He died in 1875 at the age of 50.